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Pollinators and nectar robbers cause directional selection for large spur circle in Impatiens oxyanthera (Balsaminaceae)

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Abstract

Nectar spurs have an important role in floral evolution and plant–pollinator coadaptation. The flowers of some species possess spurs curving into a circle. However, it is unclear whether spur circle diameter is under direct selection pressure from different sources, such as pollinators and nectar robbers. In this study, we quantified selection on some floral traits, such as spur circle diameter in Impatiens oxyanthera (Balsaminaceae) using phenotypic selection analysis and compared the relative importance of pollinators and nectar robbers as selective agents using mediation analysis. The study showed that pollinators caused significant selection on corolla length, spur curvature and spur circle diameter while nectar robbers only imposed strong selection on spur circle diameter. Pollinators favored flowers with large corolla, curly spurs and large spur circle while nectar robbers preferred flowers with small spur circle. More pollinator visits resulted in higher female reproductive success, while robbery reduced female fitness. Conflicting selection on spur traits from pollinators and nectar robbers was not found. Mediation analysis showed that selection on floral traits through nectar robbing was stronger than selection through pollination. The results suggested that pollinators and nectar robbers jointly mediated the directional selection for large spur circle, and nectar robbers caused stronger selection than pollinators on floral traits.

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Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to Dr. Zeqing Niu, Dr. Aimin Shi and Prof. Min Wang for identifying insects; Prof. Fake Zheng for taking photos of insect specimens; Prof. Yingqing Lu and Mr. Cehong Li for identifying target species; Dong Wang, Chaoying Cai, Guoyi He, Xiange Cheng, Fushuo Huang, Hui Gao, Fupan Wang, Pei Xiong and Chuan Wan for help in the field; Dr. Jinsong Chen, Huajun Yin, Qiumei Quan, Zhenfeng Xu, and Lei Gu for valuable comments on the manuscript; Mr. Ping Zhou and Miss. Jin He for support; Hong Wang for drawing; Youyou Huang for calculating the distance between plots; Aiying Shen and Ronghua Wang for editing language, and two reviewers for comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. This work was supported jointly by the “Strategic Priority Research Program—Climate Change: Carbon Budget and Relevant Issues” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XD A01050303), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31270552) and the National Key Technology R&D Program (2011BAC09B04).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization, Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Qiong Wang, Xiaozhen Pu, Liying Zhu, Zheng Tang & Qing Liu

  2. Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, China

    Qiong Wang & Yunxiang Li

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  1. Qiong Wang
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  5. Zheng Tang
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Correspondence to Qing Liu.

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Wang, Q., Li, Y., Pu, X. et al. Pollinators and nectar robbers cause directional selection for large spur circle in Impatiens oxyanthera (Balsaminaceae). Plant Syst Evol 299, 1263–1274 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-013-0794-x

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